Article

France need ´killer instinct´, says Dusautoir

10 February 2013 08:14

The 2010 champions slumped to their second consecutive loss when they were defeated 16-6 by Wales in freezing conditions at Stade de France on Saturday and now find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Six Nations table.

Dusautoir's side had plenty of opportunities to score against Wales, but some poor finishing and some staunch defence from their opponents meant that two Frederic Michalak penalties were the only points they could muster throughout the 80 minutes.

George North's late try for Wales was the killer blow for the French side and Dusautoir said his team need to be better in attack if they are to salvage anything from their Six Nations campaign.

"Today we did create chances but we were not able to finish them," Dusautoir said.

"When you cannot make the most of the chances that you created, it is very hard to hope to beat your opponent.

"It is really something we have to work on. We need the killer instinct as our opponent with just one chance was able to score and beat us."

France still have time to salvage something from their faltering Six Nations campaign, but face tough opposition in the form of England at Twickenham and Ireland in Dublin in the coming month.

Dusautoir said his side still have plenty to play for, but the disappointment of the loss against Wales will be hard to forget.

"This defeat is very hard to swallow," he said.

"We lost focus in the last few minutes of the game and paid the price for it.

"We are hugely disappointed because we lost at the Stade de France. It is the second defeat in a row. After two games, we have zero points.

"In a tournament like the Six Nations, it makes our situation very complicated."

Wales skipper Ryan Jones hailed the spirit of his side and said he was proud of the way they had bounced back from their loss to Ireland in the opening week of the tournament.

"It's special, on the back of where we've come from these last few months," Jones said.

"It was by no means a flawless display, there were a lot of errors there, but the character and die-hard spirit was something special.

"We knew our errors last week were our undoing, so we tightened a few things up and we've taken the spoils."